Method and apparatus for a network system designed to actively match buyers and sellers in a buyer-driven environment

ABSTRACT

A method for using a computer connected to a network to match buyers and sellers, the method including: receiving a buyer request from a buyer, the buyer request including a request to purchase a good or service, having the computer search sites on the network for sell ads from sellers, each of the sell ads referring to an advertised good or advertised service, matching the buyer request with at least one of the sell ads, and notifying the associated seller for each matched sell ad that the buyer has requested a good or service similar to the advertised good or advertised service advertised in the matched sell ad. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a system for matching buyers and sellers, the sellers advertising goods or services via sell ads posted on sites on a network, the system including: means for receiving a buyer request from a buyer, the buyer request including a request to purchase a good or service, means for searching the sell ads for goods or services similar to those included in the request, means for enabling a seller to make an offer to the buyer, means for informing the seller of other offers made to the buyer. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for using a computer connected to a network to match buyers and sellers, the method including: having the computer search sites on the network for want ads from buyers, each of the want ads referring to a wanted good or wanted service, having the computer search sites on the network for sell ads from sellers, each of the sell ads referring to an advertised good or advertised service, matching at least one of the want ads with at least one of the sell ads, and notifying the associated buyer who posted the want ad that at least one sell ad has been matched to the want ad.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electronic commerce using electronicnetworks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Internet related businesses are among the fastest growing industries inthe world. One of the preferred services for consumers on the Internetis the sale of commodities through auction and other trading sites.Online auctions are becoming the preferred platform for doing businessfor more and more people.

Today's consumer-to-consumer (C2C) auction sites heavily favor sellersbecause sellers set the terms and prices are constantly driven higher bybidders. It would be beneficial to buyers to have a buyer-orientedservice in which sellers compete for buyers, hence driving the pricedown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system that searches for andnotifies sellers of a potential buyer for goods or services offered forsale by the sellers. Sellers can generate offers through the system. Thebuyer and all prospective sellers will see the products for sale and thebest offers, thereby allowing sellers to offer a lower price and/orbetter terms. The bidding process drives the price down—thus benefitingthe consumer.

The goods or services may be, for example, merchandise and wares, realestate, software, an enabling password, access to information.

Sellers are attracted to the system because they know the buyer isserious and ready to make a purchase otherwise the buyer would not haveresponded to their sale offer

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic illustration of asystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. The systemcomprises a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server, a search engine,a matching unit, an alert module and a database. The system alsocomprises a buyer request processor and a seller offer generator andprocessor. The system enables sellers 1 through N who have posted “sellads” 1 through N, respectively, on a network such as the Internet, tocompete for a buyer, who may optionally have posted a want ad on thenetwork.

Three embodiments of using the system of FIG. 1 will be describedhereinbelow in FIG. 2. In each of these embodiments, the components ofthe system shown in FIG. 1 perform identical or similar actions. TheHTTP server provides the interface of the system to buyers and sellers.Via the HTTP server, the buyer can send raw buyer requests, which areprocessed by the buyer request processor and stored in the database. Thebuyer can also see via the HTTP server a list of matched sell ads andthe current status of seller offers for the buyer request. Via the HTTPserver, sellers can generate seller offers, which are received andprocessed by seller offer generator and processor and stored in thedatabase. The seller can also see via the HTTP server the current statusof seller offers for the buyer request. When a buyer is ready to selectat least one of the seller offers, the selection is made via the HTTPserver and provided to the purchase handler for handling.

The search engine actively searches sell ads posted by sellers on thenetwork for matches with processed buyer requests. In an alternativeembodiment, the search engine actively searches want ads posted bybuyers on the network and actively searches sell ads posted by sellerson the network for matches with the want ads. The searches are indicatedin FIG. 1 by dashed-and-dotted lines. The search engine makes use of thematching unit for determining which sell ads match which buyer requests(and/or want sell ads) and to what degree.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a flowchart illustration of amethod for using the system of FIG. 1 according to three embodiments. Inthe first embodiment, a buyer accesses the system, agrees to terms ofuse of the system, and makes a raw buyer request via the HTTP server(step 200). A buyer request, which states what the buyer is looking tobuy, may be presented in any of a variety of formats, including acompleted online form, an e-mail message, and a recorded voice message.A buyer must provide some form of contact information, for example aname, e-mail address, home or work address and telephone number. A buyermight also specify the proximity of the seller to a geographic location.As a first example, a buyer interested in buying a vacuum cleaner mayenter the following description: “Upright vacuum with attachments. Mustinclude extra bags and belt. Up to 5 years old. Good condition!”. As asecond example, a buyer interested in buying a laptop would specify allor part of the following criteria: category, title, vendor/make, speed,condition, price and warranty. The buyer request processor generates abuyer request (step 202). The buyer request is stored in the databaseand sent to the search engine (step 204).

The search engine searches the network for matched sell ads (step 206).For example, the search engine searches online classified advertisementsposted by sellers. The online classified advertisements are searched tofind matches. For example, if the buyer is looking to buy a red sportscar from 1995, the search engine will search online classifiedadvertisements for matches.

Buyer requests may be represented by a vector of parameters and comparedto a corresponding parameterized seller's ad (auction. classified). Thematching unit Will determine a match possibly by using a heuristicalgorithm or by using an algorithm based on fuzzy logic or any otheralgorithm that will determine how close is the match. In other instancesbuyer requests or sell ads may originate in free text (spoken orwritten). In these cases sophisticated parsing (and recognition, forspoken text) will be required to transform them into specific formatthat will allow an intelligent comparison.

The search of the network may be conducted online or offline. Accordingto one embodiment of the present invention, the search of the network isconducted offline. An exhaustive search on all classified advertisementsites is performed, and then sell ads are mapped to a common format andindexed in the database. When a buyer request is received online, thebuyer request is matched according to the information in the database.This results in improved time performance. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the search of the network isconducted online. Sell ads are searched immediately upon processing ofthe buyer request and compared to the buyer request in order todetermine whether there is a match. In this embodiment, the sell ads aremore up-to-date, but the time performance will be relatively slow.However, the database can save matches for future buyer requestsregarding similar items.

The system displays to the buyer via the HTTP server a list of matchedsell ads (step 206). This list may be a complete list or may be anedited, partial list. The buyer selects for which of the displayed sellads the system should contact the seller (step 208). Alternatively, thebuyer instructs the system to contact all or a portion of sellers ofmatched sell ads. Alternatively, the system contacts all or a portion ofsellers of matched sell ads without buyer intervention.

The search engine will extract contact information for the matchedsellers from the classified advertisements and will send this contactinformation to the alert module. The alert module will sendnotifications to the matched sellers, SELLER 1 to SELLER N, that apotential buyer for the product advertised in the classified ad can bereached via the system (step 210). Non-limiting examples ofnotifications include an e-mail message or a voice message generated bythe system, a personalized e-mail or voice mail or voice messagegenerated by the buyer, a pager notification, a phone call from a directmarketing call center, and a text or voice notification to a cellulartelephone or personal data assistant (PDA). The notification willinclude a link to a page posted by the HTTP server. The page willpresent the current status of seller offers for the particular buyerrequest.

Through the HTTP server, the sellers can generate processed selleroffers, which are saved in the database (steps 212-214). The alertmodule notifies the buyer that new seller offers exist (step 216). Thealert module also notifies the other sellers that a new seller offerexists, thus inviting the other sellers to generate new, lower-pricedseller offers (step 218). A bidding process begins which drives theprice down or improving other terms of the offer, benefiting the buyer.The buyer selects one or more desired seller offers (step 220), and thepurchase handler enables the buyer and the seller to complete the sale(step 222).

According to the second embodiment, the search engine actively searchesthe network want ads and sell ads for matches (step 250), and stores thematches in the database (step 252). The alert module notifies the buyerwho placed a want ad that matching sell ads have been found and invitesthe buyer to access the system (step 254). The buyer accesses the systemand the system displays a list of matched sell ads (step 256). This listmay be a complete list or may be an edited, partial list. The buyeragrees to the terms of use of the system (step 258), and the methodcontinues from step 208 as in the first embodiment.

In the third embodiment, sellers initiate the process by accessing thesystem and making a raw selling offer via the HTTP server (step 280).Seller offer generator and processor processes the raw selling offer andmatches it with buyer requests already in the database (step 282). Thealert module notifies the buyer of the new seller offer (step 216), andthe method continues from step 218 as in the first embodiment.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, andequivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is,therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spiritof the invention.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A method of matching selling advertisements,comprising: managing a plurality of sell advertisements each for aproduct; receiving a buyer request from a potential buyer, said buyerrequest identifying a specific product; identifying at least one matchedsell advertisement for selling said requested product by matching saidbuyer request with said plurality of sell advertisements; and outputtinga list comprising said at least one matched sell advertisement.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein said buyer request is a search request. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein said product is a service.
 10. The systemfor matching selling advertisements, comprising: A database configuredfor mapping a plurality of sell advertisements each for a product orservice; a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server configured forreceiving a buyer request from a potential buyer, said buyer requestidentifying a specific product or service; a matching unit configuredfor identifying at least one matched sell advertisement by matching saidbuyer request with said plurality of sell advertisements; and an outputunit configured for outputting a list comprising said at least onematched sell advertisements.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein saidbuyer request is a search request.